CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Bathing naked was already exciting enough, but doing it illegally was ten times more thrilling.

Lara's life hadn't been filled with action before she met Nate, so she would feel adventurous with little. Bathing naked in a thermal pool, out in the open, was exactly her kind of adventure.

Not to mention that she was starting to understand why Nate had insisted they had a vacation without the twins.

«Oh, this is awesome!» she sighed, leaning on the stones at the edge. She wasn't sure whether the pool was artificial, but it had been built with stones and sand, so it felt natural.

She didn't need to worry about the cubs slipping on the wet floor, nor ensure they didn't destroy anything. They were safe, somewhere far away. And it felt absolutely relaxing.

Two days like that? She would sign for it anytime!

«Awesome,» she repeated.

Nate was sitting a step from her, a little too tense for the atmosphere. One was supposed to completely relax in a thermal pool, so Lara couldn't understand what was happening to him. But she also needed another minute for herself. Then, she would inquire.

She closed her eyes, but she felt guilty for ignoring her mate's needs. In the end, she couldn't let him sit there alone a second more.

«What's up?» she asked, her eyes still closed.

«Nothing. Everything's fine.»

«But you're not as happy as you're supposed to be, Nate.»

«It's okay. Hot water feels good.»

«Do you know what would feel even better? Relax! Don't tell me you're one of those businessmen who don't know how to let loose and think only about work.»

«No, I'm not.»

«Then?»

She opened one eye and glanced at him. He didn't seem awkward, just too serious. It was not about breaking the rule about bathing clothes, was it?

«Do you like this place?» he inquired.

«Isn't it visible on my face?» she chuckled. «It's the perfect place to relax a couple of days!»

«I thought about going to the sea again, but then we would think about the pups all the time. We would ask ourselves whether they would like this and that... So, I chose a place where we haven't been as a family.»

«That's right. Smart idea.»

«But I still wonder whether they would like it,» he sighed.

«Oh, Nate,» she sighed, crawling even closer to him. Was he doing it on purpose to get under her skin?

Thinking about the twins in such a situation? In a thermal pool? How sweet of him... But she had just started enjoying the idea of a holiday alone.

They weren't getting the twins ahead of time. No way.

«Am I so boring?» she pouted.

Nate blinked, observing her expression while a turmoil rose in his heart. What had he said so wrong that his mate was doubting him and herself?

«You're the most interesting person in the world!» he exclaimed, reaching out to her. He hugged her, delicately, and pulled her closer.

«Then why do you insist on talking about other people while I'm here?» she said, poking on his chest.

«Other people?» They were their pups... Her pups! How could she consider them just other people?

But, at the same time, something nice made him feel warmer than the water.

Oh, she wanted his attention, every last bit of it. So nice...

Before his brain broke just like that, he leaned his head on her shoulder.

He liked being taken care of, especially since there was no one else who could steal his mate's attention. How nice; that vacation had been his best idea in a long while.

Lara caressed his head, playing with his hair. When she had taken off her clothes and jumped in the pool, she had a very clear idea about what to do in there alone. But then, Nate had turned into a fluffy big dog in search of attention.

He wanted cuddles, nice words, and to be close. Nothing daring nor prohibited.

Oddly enough, that didn't make her doubt herself. He wasn't acting like that because he didn't like her. Rather, it was the opposite... It was his way of showing affection that made her melt like chocolate.

«I love you,» she said.

His ears appeared under her palm, and she took mental notes about not saying something like that in public. If that was how he reacted, it was dangerous to profess her love too openly.

She resisted the glance to check whether his tail had also appeared - but only for a few seconds. She couldn't fight against curiosity, and she discreetly turned her eyes towards Nate's back.

She saw a white splash of white under the water, moving in circles against the resistance of the fluid. Was he... Was he wagging?

Just like the cubs! She could see whom they've taken from.

«So pretty,» she said.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The candid ears pricked up at the sound of her voice, and she couldn't stay still anymore. It was his fault for being cute!

«Pretty?» he repeated. She found him pretty, how nice. He could compete with the twins for her attention, like that.

Even though a part of his Alpha being rumbled in the depths of his heart... An Alpha, pretty? How could that be possible?

But even that part couldn't get angry for words said by his mate. If she said so, she was right. Period.

«You also are pretty,» he managed to say. His wolf nature was getting control of his brain, but there would have always been a part of it able to say nice words to his mate. He had many brain cells he didn't use, so they'd better do something useful - praising Lara.

«Oh, you sure?» she chuckled, moving her fingers from his hair to his neck. She slipped on the stones, and Nate had to raise his head.

Before he could grimace in pain for being left without her, she sat on his lap. Her hand reached his chest, and he forgot the pain of the moment they were apart.

All he could see and feel was her; and he was getting used to that kind of loss of control.